House speaker wouldn't trade eventful tenure 'for anything'

FRANKLIN – Clay Schexnayder became Louisiana House speaker in January 2020, a brief period of calm between fiscal uncertainty and the COVID pandemic lock-downs.
“All that being said,” Schexnayder told a St. Mary Chamber Business Luncheon audience Wednesday at The Forest, “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
The last year of three House terms for Schexnayder, R-Gonzeles, began with a $2.1 billion influx of cash from unexpectedly high tax collections.
That was quite a change from the second term of Gov. Bobby Jindal and the first term of Gov. John Bel Edwards, when the state had little money to spread around, Schexnayder said.
In 2023, the debate was over whether to use the unanticipated money to pay down debt or to spend on infrastructure and other projects. On Wednesday, Schexnayder said the Legislature managed to do some of both.
In the 2023 session, the Legislature paid down state debt by $700 million, Schexnayder said.
“I think the future will be a much better place because we don’t have that debt,” he said.
But he said it was also important to send some of the extra money to communities. So lawmakers:
—Put $2.3 million into state supplemental pay for local deputies and police officers.
—Added $44 million to $300 million from three existing funds to finance early childhood education after a federal funding program was terminated.
—Put $125 million into higher education operations in addition to $72 million in capital outlay funding.
—Found $7.5 million to help entice insurance companies continue to write homeowners policies in Louisiana after years of high claims had driven many companies away.
—Put $20 million in the FORTIFIED roofing program, which offers grants to homeowners to strengthen their roofs against storms.
—Appropriated $53 million for cyber security.
—Earmarked $20 million for voting technology.
While claims of fraud caused turmoil after the 2020 presidential election, Louisiana was no part of it, Schexnayder said. The state’s voting equipment is simply too old to allow for direct connection to the internet.
“They cannot be manipulated or miscounted,” Schexnayder said.
Schexnayder is term-limited. He’s currently running against seven opponents for secretary of state, the office that will guide Louisiana’s acquisition of new voting machines.
“We do need to upgrade,” Schexnayder said. “We need new machines.”